I tried to respond to the discussions about trait trees during the twitter chat, but the chat was abruptly cut off. My question was:
Why 3 trees per class? Devs haven't found 3 roles for champs/hnts, but capts could have 4. Premature optimization?
I am interested in this. It isn't necessary that every class needs 3 trait lines or 3 trait trees. For example, champions have always had 2 roles: dps and tanking. That these roles are split into 3 trait lines is illogical. Various revamps have attempted to make one dps line optimal for single target dps and one optimal for AoE dps, but the separation of these lines has always been artificial.
The response that each class would have 3 distinct trait trees is dismaying. I would like to give the developers the benefit of the doubt, but this has the appearance of a stale, jejune system.
This is an opportunity to break free of the 3-trait-line paradigm established with the Mines of Moria expansion. It never made sense for champions to have 2 dps traitlines. Why not combine them into one big dps trait line with opportunities for individuality within that single trait line?
It doesn't make sense for captains to specialize deeply into single trait lines; the captain class is meant to be a hybrid. Why not 4 trait lines for captains?
Also, if the developers are worried about classes becoming too good at multiple roles simultaneously, the problem isn't in the traits. The problem is the legendary item system. We are able to customize multiple legendary items to complement each role, and switch among those legendary items during battle. We can't switch between traits during battle.
I'd love to see what the developers are cooking up, but I am also worried.
Other comments:
Why did it take 2 weeks to remove 1st age legendary items from the Tier 1 raid loot table? This isn't rocket science (don't answer this if you program the game in c++; I don't want to know!).
I'm so tired.
I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. ~ Faramir
Undo the U12 class changes. The trait trees were, are, and will always be a bad idea.
Maedhric 105 Captain, Nunion 110 Champion, Taraviel 85 Minstrel, etc...